Many adventures in Cyprus 2018

January / February 2018

It started with a BANG… 

and went south pretty quickly

Looking at each other then scrambling from the cabin to the cockpit…… we saw one of our 5 foot inflatable fenders had blown up on to the deck.  Secure for now, the wind gusting into the 30’s, we descended to the warmth of the cabin.  

   *We had just returned from a 2 month FREEZING holiday in the states… 

Another BANG… followed by ? footsteps??… Another venture into the cutting wind, we found our boat neighbor, Leon, desperately trying to secure our fender.  It being our boat we thought we should assist.  Leon did not realize we had returned and was checking on his boat because of the high wind warning / forecast issued, when he heard the commotion from our boat.  This led to the trio of us hauling out pile after pile of lines and tying our boats to every available cleat possible.  The forecast predicting gusts nearing 50 knots throughout the coming day.   While doing this, the marina boat staff, doing their rounds, offered to help.  

The wind was now steady 25 knots gusting near 40.  With the extra help we winched our boat away from Leon’s boat.  Inishnee was taking the brunt of the wind with 2 other boats downwind and next to her.  2 mooring lines off the aft, 5 lines going to the pier from the the boat and one line securing the outer ends of the boats together should have been enough.  But, the wind continued and Inishnee inched closer to the dock with every gust, now nearing 50 knots.  

The idea was hatched to run the engine in reverse to give us purchase and attach yet another mooring line to the aft.  This accomplished, the dock hands left and continued on their rounds.  The previous actions worked really well… until the slime lines got caught in our still running  prop and the engine abruptly stopped.  The lines wound tightly, a diver would be needed to cut them free.  But for now Inishnee was even closer to the pier because the wrapped lines pulled the boat within inches of the concrete.   

A next, new idea…  We would use a really long line to pull Inishnee off the pier and toward the opposite dock to the aft of us.  How to get the line from there to here?… several attempts were made throwing a fender with a line across the fairway between boats.  Even with the high winds the fender would not float across.  The rain was drenching us all while the wind blew with enough force to dislodge any loose objects.  Leon believed he would be less wet if he just swam across the fairway than standing there… Which is exactly what he did.  He returned to his boat, replaced his outer wear with a speedo and dove in!  He quickly had the fender and was back aboard.  While he retrieved his dry clothes, Jim and Kathy pulled the line / fender from the opposite pier to the boat and secured it… Whew.  

Aphrodite Rock

But is was short lived.  The marina would not allow the fairway to be blocked, even for the duration of the blow, so they sent yet another crew over with a BIG dinghy and huge outboard.  Plan ?… With the aide of the dinghy & motor and extra hands we forced the boat backwards and secured 2 more moorings to it.  It would have to do.  

We treated Leon to a nice, hot bowl of soup, which had been made just as the blow was getting started… The stove had to be gimbaled due to the gusting winds.  Many thanks to Leon for all his help!

The winds continued throughout the day, letting up as evening approached.  By the next morning, the sun was out and things were drying out.  Boat owners were surveying the damages and looking for their blown away canvas and cushions.  The marina sent a diver to cut the lines off our prop.  Jim then need to realign the shaft and make sure there was no damage to the transmission.  After several hours of sweaty work, all systems seem to be working fine.  

With that behind us, we settled in to doing boat projects, laundry and shopping, etc.  We spent several evening dinners with friends Dennis and Binny, an Irish couple that winter in Cypus aboard their boat Lady Kate.  They took us on a few driving tours of the nearby area as well.  

Our arrival in Cyprus last fall left us lamenting our decision to berth here for the winter.  Few live-aboard cruisers and a landscape of dry, rocky wasteland… or so we thought.  The winter rains had changed the landscape dramatically, green fields, spring flowers… in February!  Flowering trees and lush agriculture.  The island grows much of its produce, farm to market easily accomplished.  The variety isn't spectacular but everything is fresh and tasty.  

Flowering Almond

Our (boring) routine was was happily interrupted with a visit from our dear friend Carrie and her lovely granddaughter Lauren.  They spent 2 of their 5 weeks traveling about Europe (Greece) with us.

First challenge for our guests, boarding the boat.  You have to step UP to the gangplank ladder that spans the boat and the dock, then walk up to the bow railing, climb over it and step aboard.  They stowed their few belongings in the very tight space we had to offer them.  Luckily, Carrie’s good nature and relaxed idea of comfort (it’s a really small space) rubbed off on Lauren and we all managed quite nicely.  We had dinner aboard while catching up on gossip and travel adventures. 

St. John Commandaria grape vines
 the oldest named wine in the world   

But, we had a rental car so we set off early…ish the next morning for one of the many driving tours found in the guidebook from the tourist office.  Our destination was for the western tip of the island to do some hiking and exploring.  The main roads are well marked but once you get off them and onto the secondary roads… it’s all Greek.  Seriously.  Carrie came prepared with her iPad mini and maps.me app.  Thank you!  She became the crews Official Navigator.  We found the nature reserve and set off on a small hike up a gorge.

This would be followed by making days and miles / kilometers of similar trekking… We saw tons of old rocks from past civilizations:  tombs, castles, palaces, theaters, mosques, churches, monasteries… wine villages, orchards, scenic roads with mountain switchbacks, big horn sheep (in an paddock for tourists) and a couple of wild foxes… 

Cats, cats and more cats… the island LOVES their cats.  They are not pets here, they roam free but are accustomed to people and often fed /watered by some caring sole.

We took an apartment located within the old city walls for an over night in the capital of Nicosia (Lefkosia) on the free side.  The northern Turkish side of the island is known as the ‘occupied side”.   

behind the tables and umbrellas...
part of the wall that separates free Cyprus
from Occupied Cyprus (Turkey)

We wandered around the free side for a while before crossing the boarder / checkpoint to the occupied side.  Our passports only needed scanning.  Though only a few meters separate the two sides, there is a noticeable difference.  The north side of the city more rundown and battered looking.  We found the prices for things slightly less expensive.  



The old market building had many shops with produce and food items as well as the typical tourist assortments of scarves, towels, jewelry and souvenirs.  An old hotel, two floors… claiming to be the first Holiday Inn, built in the 1500’s, now repurposed with shops and restaurants.  The central courtyard circled with benches and vendors trying to sell you a wonder of items… Kathy could not remember being in a place with sooo many authentic and hand made items.  Unique, made in the country, by the vendor or a relative.  






Weavings, jewelry, pottery, planters, sculptures, paintings… A little bit of heaven for her art loving eye… 

We made several purchases and continued our stroll.  The call to prayer heard occasionally.  Scooters and motor bikes darting in and out of pedestrians as they too went about their business. 

A stop for a local beer followed by more photos, especially of the outrageous graffiti the island seems to tolerate.  

It is EVERY WHERE,!  Both side to the island. Most of it is really bad, but some of it… incredibly beautiful and at times profane… 

The weather was warm and pleasant for most of our guest’s visit, which coincided with the first week of Carnival!  The biggest events and parades of the island  held right here in Limassol. The opening event: Shrove Thursday.  




A fiesta where huge quantities of meat on a stick or spit are ingested.  Every corner has someone grilling and often handing out free samples.  The air is ripe with the odors of glorious grilling, juices dripping onto the hot coals. There is a fair amount of adult alcohol consumption but we only saw one person among the thousands that day that was in the throws of a hangover… spewing, unfortunately on the sidewalk.  

The children’s parade; a lively event featuring a variety of children’s groups, each dressed to a theme, marching past.  The parades observers are encouraged to dress up as well… a bit like halloween but the costumes are geared more to fun, not spooky or gruesome.  An odd but prolific custom here is to shower everyone and things with confetti, silly sting and fake, spray snow.  

The first 2 tolerable and even enjoyable… but the fake snow when shot  the eye or mouth of someone tends to put and end their festivities.  

We ate many awesome dinners aboard prepared by both Carrie and Lauren. They  were glad to take a break from the many restaurant meals they had consumed.

Carried spied some land snails while shopping in the local market, the kind you eat.  The vendor said “you just boil them for 30 minutes, then add oil and garlic.  It’s simple”  
Soon we were possession of a kilo.  We made a ‘pen’ for them that we placed in the cockpit.  
Carrie began her research in ernest.  2 days later she felt confident enough to begin the task, which according to the internet was a bit more complicated than the ‘just boil for 30 minutes’ we were told.  It took several hours starting with purging them of their waste; a fresh water bath with vinegar… I will spare you the the rest of gory, slimy deals, but I feel confident that we will NEVER prepare snails on this boat again.  The poor little buggers.  I could not even post pictures to face book for fear someone might notify PITA of our exploits.  We all ate them, some thoroughly enjoying them, some taking part to say she had at least tried them.  Carrie, thank you for being you!  

  

Their final evening with us culminated with a party at the old castle very near the marina.  We were off.  Dinner at one of our favorite restaurants;  local sausages, pita, french fries and salads followed by a shisha and ice-cream.   The party was in full swing next to the restaurant, a big stage with strobe lights and blaring music kept the crowd moving.  Good sense prevailed and we left the party with clear heads and full bellies.. Our guests had a very early flight which meant we had to leave for the airport at 4am the next morning.

one of the grocery stores
two floors with an escalator for people
and another for your car!

We spent the remainder of the airport day doing laundry, groceries.  The following day, one last tour before the car was deposited back with the rental company.  A neolithic settlement very near Lemesos.

We drove to Paphos were we had arranged for a shared taxi for our return trip.  We had driven this route many times in the months we have spent here, but this was by FAR the fastest we have ever gone.  In 45 minutes from being seated in the van, we were standing at the gates to the marina. The trip, even according to ‘Google maps’, was estimated at 60+ minutes.  Imagine if Jim had driven like the taxi driver… how many more miles we could have put on our rental… though I'm not sure our hearts could have withstood the trauma.  Jim was an amazing driver for our explorations.  He quickly became accustomed to driving on the left side of the road, the shifter in its proper place but the wheel on the starboard side.  He seldom got flustered with our redirections, we had to turn around a lot.  And only a few times had to be reminded to get on the left side of the road when pulling on to an empty street.  We nearly drove the tires off the rental, putting over 1,800 miles on the odometer.  

The Grand Parade for Carnival was great fun.  The floats are forbidden by law to broadcast music but  luckily we found a spot right at the beginning of the procession with sufficient speakers to hear the blasting, vibrating tunes that accompany each float.   We had seen several Carnival paraded while in the Caribbean.  Comparing the generalities the caribbean parade participants wear a lot more spandex and feathers, read lots of female flesh, which pretty much makes up the entire costume.  The climate being considerably cooler here in the Mediterranean, the parade costumes use a lot more fabric but were every bit as interesting to see.  Each group dressed according to a theme, with subtle differences for gender.  The floats were generally huge (paper mache?) characters pulled by farm tractors.  Some were political, most whimsical.    We stayed for over 1  1/2  hours and there appeared to be no end to the proceedings.  We left the crowd and walked home.  Our ears grateful for the reprieve.  

With friends gone and the festivities over, we find the boat very quite.  Not quite boring but… not far from it.  Internet movies, books and chores filling the void for parts of the day.  Kathy joined a Facebook group dedicated to cooking and has been cooking and taking lots of pictures of our meals.  She has also been altering our rain panels by adding windows to the canvas areas to allow more light in the cockpit, making it a kind of 3 season room. continues his quest to locate the very elusive leak that drips into the cabin every other rainstorm.  Applying various putties and goops to the suspected source.  Jim also discovered our manual bilge wasn't  working properly so he has been trouble shooting it to coax it to life. 

Not glamorous

Not boring 

Our lives